Conventional plastic materials such as polyethylene, polyolifins, polyvinyl chlorides and other thermoplastic and thermosetting materials and other chemical structures such as acrylics and epoxies have conventionally had various additives introduced into their liquid state to provide sanitizing properties. For example, certain plastics have been rendered effective against gram-positive micro-organisms whereas other additives have been utilized to effectively kill Gram-negative organisms. Also, it has been conventional to combine the Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteriostats to produce a plastic material whether sheet, film or a molded article that will inhibit the growth of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms. However, various problems arise when introducing two additives into a plastic material in its molten or liquid state as the two component system may alter the physical properties of the plastic base material and the dual components must be tested to insure their compatibility and continued effective properties when combined into one plastic material. The relative strength and percentages of each of the components in the dual system must be measured and it is not uncommon to produce a plastic article which may initially have effective inhibiting properties for both Gram-negative and Gram-positive organisms whereupon later one or the other of the inhibiting additives will greatly lose its effectiveness while the other inhibiting additive remains effective. Also, since it is commonplace to mold, extrude, and otherwise subject the plastic base materials to high temperatures and temperature changes during forming or setting, it has been desirable to locate inhibitors which do not lose their effectiveness when subjected to high temperatures as are known within the plastic molding or forming arts.
With the disadvantages of the prior art additives in mind, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a single chemical compound which can be incorporated into plastic materials which will provide effective growth inhibition against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms including Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an effective inhibiting agent which can be subjected to the high temperatures of the plastic molding and forming art without losing its effectiveness and which remains effective for a long period of time.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a sanitizing agent which is relatively inexpensive and which requires no special handling procedures or techniques.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a sanitizing agent which can be incorporated in a low percentage into a wide range of plastic materials without adversely affecting the inherent properties of the plastic.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide a sanitizing agent which is effective against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms over a wide percentage range.
It is also an objective of the present invention to provide a self-sanitizing plastic material which can be molded, cast, blown, extruded or calendared.
It is yet still another objective of the present invention to provide a plastic carpet backing which renders the upper carpet surface self-sanitizing.